Sunday, November 13, 2011

Fun with Beet Kanji - A great way to treat your beets !

Fall is a visual treat & I love the natural strokes of lovely colors on the trees right now. It's has been raining red, orange, yellow, purple and green leaves all over. Last weekend we went for a short trip to DC and the Potomac river with its banks full of Fall foliage splendor, looked gorgeous. We picked leaves and pines to make our potpourri at home later that evening. It was both sunny and nippy, making it the best time to enjoy the natural sightseeing and do some shopping for the holiday season ahead. On returning back home, I was craving to have some healthy and flavorful drink in the colors of the fall to quench my thirst. I thought of making some fresh beetroot based drink, traditionally known as 'Kanji' . Beets, carrots and ginger are really good for health and glowing skin, especially in the winters. The colors are so great , its easy to mistake it as a great glass of Red Wine & the flavors are amazing - little tangy & a bit biting. So here the recipe of refreshing and completely rejuvenating drink- Kanji.

Featured on FoodBuzz Top9 on 11/15/2011

Beet Kaanji is the best way I love to have beets, you hv best of both worlds here !

Method:
The kanji is best made and stored in a glass jug or earthen pitcher.
Thoroughly wash, peel and thinly slice or julienne both the beets, ginger and carrots.
Toss it with salt, mustard powder and a dash of pepper.
Add plenty of water, ~7-8 glasses and cover the pitcher with a muslin cloth.
Keep covered for 3-4 days at room temperature.
If possible, let the jar get some some direct exposure to sunshine, this will enhance the colors & flavors.
Make sure you stir the mix in the jar once in a day.
Slowly but surely, the mustard powder starts turning our mix into a sour & tangy drink.
Kanji should be ready in three days when beets leave their lovely shade and flavor to the water.

Top Shop - Color is lovely & flavors are amazing ...

Love the color... it's easy to mistake it for Red Wine !!!

Feel like fishing my beets out, Lovely & Submerged !

Its very important that the jar is not over exposed (beyond 3-4 days) to ambient conditions, and as soon as the it is ready we need to chill it to make sure we dont get any form of uncontrolled fermentation.
To store Kanji keep it chilled in the refrigerator and enjoy it with your afternoon meals or anytime.
I like to leave the beets/carrots within the juice and eat it later.
If you dont like'em then sieve'em out before serving.
It's a truly rejuvenating thirst quencher.... !!!!

These pickled beets are amazing ... go digg'em out !!!

I love to fish out & eat these crunchy pickled beets as an appetizer.
There are crunchy, juicy & little sour - great great combination of all things I desire in a appetizer.

Beauty in Red, do you disagree ???

OK this might sound silly, I wasn't prepared for this but still I attempted a pour shot from a distance.

... an Amateurish attempt at pour shot :)

We loved our Kanji drink & have been enjoying the same for past few days.
Hope you like the presentation & will share with me your feedback

Sonia, this looks amazing! I never had beet juice but I like the pickled beets and I'm definitely going to try this recipe soon. Thanks for sharing. Oh, and your pictures are awesome, including the pour shot!